The Santa Fe New Mexican, May 17, 2013

Page 1

The New Mexican’s Weekly

ent & Culture

Magazine of Arts, Entertainm

May 17, 2013

Altered plates: Art of Maggie Taylor & Henrieke Strecker

Locally owned and independent

Friday, May 17, 2013

www.santafenewmexican.com $1.25

Glorieta teen accused of blackmailing sex partner Girl allegedly threatened to file rape report against man, 43, unless he paid $1,500

By Nico Roesler The New Mexican

State police say a 17-year-old Glorieta girl faces a charge of extortion after allegedly trying to blackmail a 43-year-old sexual partner for cash. The man had met the girl, Selena Velasquez, at a Cinco de Mayo party

in Pecos, police said Thursday, and the two had consensual sex. After that encounter, the man claims, the girl threatened to call police to report that he had raped her — unless he paid her $500 every Friday for three weeks. State police said Velasquez had been visiting the man at work, texting him and calling him since the encoun-

RAILYARD CINEMA

Selena Velasquez

ter, allegedly threatening to harm him and his daughter. State police met with the man May 8, according to Sgt. Emmanuel Gutierrez, and he told police about the girl and her alleged efforts to blackmail him. Officers then monitored a phone

Please see Teen, Page A-4

FUEGO SMOKED BUT FANS FIRED UP

‘Higher’ theater, lower prices? Violet Crown owner promises a more gourmet film experience without hurting local businesses By Tom Sharpe The New Mexican

The head of an Austin, Texas-based theater company that aims to open a new cinema in the Santa Fe Railyard on Thursday pledged to offer a “higher experience” to movie lovers, with gourmet food, coffee, beer and wine, without infringing on existing local theaters. Bill Banowsky, the principal owner of Violet Crown Cinema, told about 50 people who showed up for an early neighborhood notification meeting at Warehouse 21 that the proposed Santa Fe theater would show first-run movies, like those shown at the Regal Santa Fe Stadium 14 or the UA DeVargas 6, but with reserved seats at cheaper prices. He said the new theater might show “crossover art films,” such as The King’s Speech, but not

A

bout 150 baseball fans gathered at Fort Marcy Ballpark on Thursday evening for Santa Fe Fuego home opener with the Pecos League’s new Taos Blizzard. The Blizzard smoked the Fuego 17-8, but cheering Fuego fans were undaunted. The Fuego’s second season in the Pecos League is set to include 45 more home games against teams from Raton, Las Vegas and White Sands in New Mexico, as well as Alpine, Texas, and Trinidad, Colo. Last season, crowds in Santa Fe were the biggest in the league. Taos is the league’s newest expansion team. The two teams are also scheduled to play in Santa Fe at 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Fuego is playing at home again each night from May 21 to 26.

Please see THeATer, Page A-4

Police: Mom gives chase to stop suspected child abductor Woman rams car to stop man who allegedly snatched girl, 4

The New Mexican

By Russell Contreras

InsIDe

The Associated Press

u More coverage of Thursday’s Fuego home opener. sPorTs, B-1

ALBUQUERQUE — A mother whose 4-yearold was being abducted chased the suspect down and crashed her vehicle into his car, triggering a manhunt and the arrest of the suspect, Albuquerque police said Thursday. The young girl was playing in her yard at St. Anthony’s Plaza Apartments in Albuquerque’s North Valley about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, when a group of teenagers saw the kidnapping and ran to alert the girl’s mother, police said. The family called 911, and the mother jumped into her vehicle and gave chase for about seven miles, unaware the man had pushed the girl out

on THe weB u See more photos from Thursday’s Santa Fe Fuego game on our website, santafenewmexican.com. Santa Fe Fuego mascot McGee the Dragon gives a hug to JuJu Cde Vaca, 6, while her older sister, Leah Herrera, 8, waits her turn during the Fuego’s home-opening game against the Taos Blizzard on Thursday at Fort Marcy Ballpark.

Please see CHAse, Page A-4

JANE PHILLIPS/THE NEW MEXICAN

ST. PIUS X GRADUATION

Today

Transgender student wants to graduate as man, in black

Partly cloudy. High 84, low 49.

The Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE — Damian Garcia wants to wear a black robe when he graduates next week with his high school classmates at St. Pius X Catholic School in Albuquerque. But school officials say no. Because Garcia was born as a girl, they say, he must appear at his graduation ceremony in a white robe, along with the other senior girls at the school. Garcia and his family are outraged by the decision, and he’s threatening to skip the ceremony altogether, rather than face humiliation. “I just want to walk in my black robe, nice and proud, and have that memory to look back on with my family and friends,” Damian Garcia told television station KRQE. “I would rather not walk than to

Index

Calendar A-2

Classifieds D-2

Comics B-8

embarrass myself by wearing a female robe.” Garcia was born Brandi Garcia, but he identifies as a male and even had his name legally changed last year. Fellow students, teachers and faculty at St. Pius call him Damian, and so do his family members. “I look at him, and I call him my son. That’s how he wishes to be acknowledged, is as a male,” said his father, Luis Garcia. He called the school’s decision “heartbreaking.” “All you want in life is to see your kids happy and healthy. You never want to see them suffer or being ridiculed or be made fun of,” he said. But St. Pius officials won’t budge. They say the color of robe Garcia wears at his graduation ceremony is a matter of school policy. According to school officials, the policy states that if there is any question about which color of robe

Lotteries A-2

Opinion A-5

Police notes C-2

Editor: Rob Dean, 986-3033, rdean@sfnewmexican.com Design and headlines: Cynthia Miller, cmiller@sfnewmexican.com

PAge B-6

More grADuATIon CoverAge u At St. John’s College, a solemn graduation tradition with a smirk. PAge C-1 u The 2013 graduates of the Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe University of Art and Design and St. John’s College. PAge C-5

a student should wear at graduation, the school requires the robe color to correspond with the gender stated on the student’s birth certificate. The Garcias say they don’t expect St. Pius to change its policy by next week to allow for Damian Garcia’s preference, but they do hope the school will consider having all graduates wear the same color to avoid the conflict.

Sports B-1

Time Out B-7

Gen Next D-1

Main office: 983-3303 Late paper: 986-3010

obituaries Ann Chaparro, 85, May 13 Carlotta Clark-Van Brunt Esequiel Lopez, 97, Pecos, May 13 PAge C-2

Literacy hero El Dorado Community School teacher is named as one who inspires. LoCAL news, C-1

Four sections, 28 pages Pasatiempo, 64 pages 164th year, No. 137 Publication No. 596-440


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